Jane Goodale (Ashley Judd) works as a New York City talent booker for a TV talk show hosted by Diane Roberts (Ellen Barkin), a very ambitious woman who aims to be a national celebrity. Jane has high hopes of meeting the right man but isn't spending every spare moment looking for him. She's too busy for that. When she first sets eyes on Ray Brown (Greg Kinnear), the show's new executive producer, they both feel a strong attraction. Once their romance begins, the only thing standing in the way after he says "I love you" is a girlfriend he's been seeing for three years. Jane and Ray make plans to move into a fancy apartment overlooking the city. Then suddenly without any warning, he retreats, leaving Jane heartbroken, angry, and perplexed.

Her best friend Liz (Marisa Tomei), an editor at a men's magazine, listens to her lament and patiently tries to make sense out of Jane's theory as to why men regularly dump women as soon as they've had sex with them. It's based on an article she's read in The New York Times about bovine male behavior. As Jane puts it, once a bull has mated with any given cow, he loses interest and can't get together with her again. Clearly, Ray thought of her as an "old cow."

Since she has already given up her apartment, Jane decides to move in with Eddie Alden (Hugh Jackman), a hedonistic coworker with a large downtown loft and a nonstop supply of new women. Love 'em and leave 'em is his credo — or so it seems to his new roommate who is soon obsessed with her diatribe against men and their instinctive no-strings attached behavior. Using a pseudonym, she even begins writing a column about the old cow theory in Liz's magazine.

Someone Like You is a relaxed and sassy romantic comedy ripe with tart observations on sexual politics. Written by Elizabeth Chandler, based upon Laura Zigman's novel Animal Husbandry, it will get you thinking about how men and women can turn attraction into love. Director Tony Goldwyn (A Walk on the Moon) draws smashingly funny performances out of Ashley Judd and Hugh Jackman. Their characters circle around each other with friendly nonchalance.

As Jane finds out, no one theory can pin down the sexual behavior of men or women. The exception is the rule. There are always individuals who operate on a heart level and bedevil all the research studies about what "most" people do in relationships. Love is sometimes right in front of you; all you have to do is drop all preconceptions and leap into the dark.